Moving is definitely on my list of least favorite activities of all time, but there are a few things that make up for all the hours packing and unpacking. At the top of that list is getting to start with blank walls and new spaces to fill with all of my favorite things that I love. We had a big blank space in our living room, and I really wanted to make something that celebrates each place that we still call home with a little piece of home decor made from wooden states!
The first step was to decide how large to make each state. If I made them all to size, some would be huge, and the tiny New England states would be overshadowed. In Photoshop, I arranged pictures of each state and resized each until I found that they looked comfortable next to each other. I added in an image of a ruler so I could gauge what number of inches I wanted the longest side to be. For example, based on my arrangement, Idaho should be a foot tall, Ohio should be about 10" wide, etc.
I was not even going to attempt to cut out these intricate states myself, so I ordered them from Craft Cuts and they were only about $4-5 each. I chose to use MDF because it quite strong and not very heavy. Its actually very popular for crafting.
I used a black acrylic enamel since that was all we had after some Pinewood Derby cars this year, but I'm sure any standard bottle of black spray paint would do the job just fine.
From there, I hand-painted some destination stars and dotted paths from home to home and drilled two holes into the top and bottom of each state. I sprayed on a polycrylic top coat and then strung them together with craft ribbon that you can find at any Joann's or Walmart for around $.50.
In Photoshop, I made a quick text image for my Cricut (and feel free to use this yourself!) and applied it to the wall with standard black vinyl. I love, love, love how it turned out and I just beam with pride when friends come over and ask if these are all the places that we've lived.
Hopefully it will inspire you to make one yourself!! Happy crafting!
Amber Ludwig says
Omgosh I am so envious of your craftiness!! This turned out so super cute!! And you have lived so many places!! You are so lucky and I just love that you captured it and cherish it!! I have only lived in Wisconsin so mine would be pretty boring but I do love this idea!!
Amanda Schaeffer says
Thank you for sharing this I would love to do this for my kids room we have moved around a lot so this seems like a great thing to do for them. 🙂
Linda Manns says
This is such a cute idea. It would make a great craft for my grandchildren and they can learn while having fun. Thank you so much for sharing
Lauryn R says
This is absolutely fantastic idea, I LOVE it!! My husband and I have both moved a lot in our lives, and even quite more than most since we have been together. This is such a great and heart warming way to remember and share all of the places you have lived! 🙂
G K says
This is such a fun idea! I love the finished product and want to try something similar.
Molly Mahoney says
This is awesome Camille! We love what you did with our Craft Shapes. Thanks for the sharing!